SOAP AND OLD ORCHARDS. 253 



depends upon the quality of the apples, the condition of the 

 trees and their former culture. If the orchard is one of grafted 

 fruit, that has been well cared for and still shows manifest signs 

 of decadence, it may as well be consigned to the woodhouse. 

 There is no doubt but that grafted fruit, in elaborating its large 

 size and delicate flavor, makes large drafts both on the tree and 

 soil, and therefore sooner exhausts the energies of both. Like 

 the roue whose vital powers have been exhausted by a life of 

 wanton pleasure, when once the constitution gives way, no med- 

 icine can restore it. The native trees, on the other hand, not 

 having been thus exhausted, have, even in their dilapidated con- 

 dition, a reserve of constitutional force, and may be rejuvenated, 

 by pruning, grafting and tillage, so as to pay well for the 

 expense. A new top can as easily be put on an apple-tree as a 

 new covering on an old umbrella. We have only to cut away 

 the old, decaying branches and let some of the most vigorous 

 suckers take their place. These suckers furnish just the right 

 stocks for grafting, care being always taken to leave sufficient 

 branches to furnish breathing apparatus for the tree. At the 

 same time the old branches are lopped off, the trunk should be 

 thoroughly scraped with a hoe, the suckers around the roots 

 removed, and the whole tree washed with strong soapsuds. We 

 have found soft soap as acceptable to trees as to men. We have 

 sometimes used the pure article, and have never known any 

 damage arise from its use on the trunks of old trees ; but our 

 more common practice has been to dilute the soap with half 

 water. The effect of soapsuds on a tree is much the same as on 

 a dirty urchin's face. As the unkempt and unwashed boy is 

 hardly recognized after a thorough scouring, so the washed tree 

 puts on an entirely different look. The bark becomes smooth 

 and glossy, and is no longer the home of insects which formerly 

 preyed upon the juices of the tree, but performs its designated 

 office of aiding the leaves in their inspirations and expirations. 

 The bark has much the same relation to the tree that the skin 

 has to the animal. As we do not expect an animal to thrive, the 

 pores of whose skirt are stopped by dirt, scabs and vermin, 

 neither must we expect a vigorous tree when the bark is scaly 

 and full of cocoons and insects. If the soap is applied so freely 

 as to run down among the roots, it will not be lost. It is one of 

 the best stimulants that can be given to these roots, and acts on 



